Some business ventures are more environmentally friendly than others (and some are entirely unfriendly, contributing to pollution and climate change). The more progressive businesses help to promote environmental sustainability and go some way towards addressing the global challenge of climate change.
To assess which cities are optimal for more eco-conscious businesses the firm Solopress analysed 50 global cities across a variety of metrics, including each location’s sustainability ranking, pollution score, air quality and number of B corporations.
The outcome was where Vienna tops the list for eco-conscious businesses and European cities populate the top five. The top ten is:
| Rank | City | Country | Sustainable development ranking | Pollution score | Air quality | Distance of mapped cycling routes (km) | No. of B corporations |
| 1 | Vienna | Austria | 82.3 | 15.5 | 84.6 | 2,868,408 | 154 |
| 2 | Stockholm | Sweden | 85.2 | 18.4 | 84.4 | 337,343 | 180 |
| 3 | Copenhagen | Denmark | 85.6 | 21.5 | 81.8 | 348,862 | 228 |
| 4 | Edinburgh | United Kingdom | 80.6 | 28.1 | 74.6 | 205,019 | 1,765 |
| 5 | Munich | Germany | 82.2 | 25 | 74.8 | 1,438,715 | 490 |
| 6 | Boston | United States | 74.6 | 30.9 | 74.5 | 95,373 | 2,496 |
| 7 | Seattle | United States | 74.6 | 33.9 | 73.9 | 258,218 | 2,496 |
| 8 | Amsterdam | The Netherlands | 79.9 | 25.5 | 76.3 | 1,063,403 | 487 |
| 9 | Oslo | Norway | 82.4 | 21.6 | 77.3 | 613,920 | 113 |
| 10 | Tampa | United States | 74.6 | 34.3 | 75.5 | 8,969 | 2,496 |
Vienna takes the lead as the best city for eco-conscious businesses, with the second highest air quality (84.6) and the second longest distance of mapped cycling routes (2,868,408).
The U.S. is placed lowlier on the list, with Boston coming in at number six, being home to 2,496 B corporations and with a solid sustainable development score of 74.6. Seattle ranks in seventh place, also with an impressive number of B corporations (2,496).
The highest U.K. city is Edinburgh. Bubbling below this, businesses most likely to adopt sustainable print options are those based in Oxford and Cambridge. In the case of Cambridge, considerable efforts have gone into re-shaping the city to boost sustainability.
In contrast, Marseille is the least favourable city, plagued by the highest pollution score and the worst air quality among analysed cities. Los Angeles and Barcelona also struggle, with. Barcelona suffers from high pollution levels and a paucity of cycling routes, ranking 11th from the bottom among analysed cities.
